Enabling Plant Growth in Microgravity and Spaceflight
Say you want to start a long-term space station...
...but due to the lack of gravity, your plants aren't growing too well.
By replacing a plant's gravity cue with a magnetic cue we will be able to restore directional root growth!
Typically, starch-filled organelles called statoliths sink due to gravity and cause the roots to grow towards the source of gravity.
By overexpressing ferritin and expressing a peptide that imports the ferritin into the statoliths, a magnetic field will pull the statoliths down.
Roots are important for circulating nutrients and by establishing a magnetic cue, plants will be able to grow bigger and healthier despite the lack of gravity.
Healthier plants make for efficient space agriculture, a crucial leap for the feasibility of long-term space flight!
